Alis Rowe's Blog, page 7

The Shell Theory

I have been thinking about the way we respond to stressful situations. I devised an interesting idea, which I have called The Shell Theory. See if it makes you think about your own stressful situations in an alternative way. 

Often, when an autistic person prepares for a new forthcoming situation, they feel a degree of anxiety. This anxiety represents feelings such as worry, stress, nervousness and fear. It also represents thoughts such as “What exactly is going to happen?”, “What if it’s awful?” and “What will I do if something goes wrong?” Their anxiety involves all their planning and preparation as to how they will cope with the new situation.

This anxiety can be illustrated as a ‘shell’ surrounding the autistic person:

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Why it is helpful to arrive early

When a person goes out to do something, it is often said that arriving early is a very good idea. I think that arriving early can be particularly helpful for autistic people.

Even before I knew about autism and before I was diagnosed, I always liked to arrive at a place early. Now that I have a greater understanding about autism, I have developed some thoughts as to why this might be a useful strategy for other autistic people:

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You’re Late (animation)

Here’s an interesting scenario:

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Asperger’s and Me (Audiobook)

Do you know anyone who might find The Curly Hair Project helpful?Do they engage better with audio rather than reading?Maybe you prefer audio rather than reading?

We have just finished our first audiobook!

The audiobook has been narrated by Alis Rowe.

Purchase The Girl With The Curly Hair: Asperger’s and Me Audiobook on Amazon

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Understanding the ‘state of normal’

Autistic people can find change very difficult. One of the reasons for this is because change disrupts their ‘state of normal’.

What is the state of normal?

The state of normal is what a person is used to doing, what they are used to feeling and subsequently what they are used to thinking. It is the combination of behaviour, feelings and thoughts.

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The importance of being aware of your own body

It is important to be aware of your own body experiences and needs (this is the skill of ‘listening to your body’). Autistic people may have trouble with this. Here are some reasons why autistic people might benefit from becoming more physically aware.

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How to get someone’s attention

It can be excruciatingly difficult for an autistic person to attempt to get the attention of somebody else. Examples of this might be going into a shop and needing to speak to an assistant or wanting to say something inside a group conversation.

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The importance of preparing for feelings

Autistic people often feel anxious about things that are spontaneous or vague. Having plenty of information in advance of or at least during a situation, can significantly minimise an autistic person’s anxiety. The information allows an autistic person to plan and prepare for what the situation might entail.

It is usually helpful for an autistic person to obtain this type of information:

What is going to happen in the situationWhy the situation is happeningWhere the situation is going to take placeWhen the situation is going to take placeWhen the situation is going to endWho else is going to be a part of the situationHow the situation is going to happenFeelings also need to be planned and prepared forJoin The Curly Hair Project Community Today

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Smells (animation)

Autistic people can be hypersensitive (oversensitive) to smell. This can make usual day to day experiences very uncomfortable. Watch our awesome animation to find out more:

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The margin of acceptability

I’ve been thinking about why I like people to be specific when they are giving me a choice or asking me to do something.

Let’s have a look at this video clip taken from ‘A Day at Primary School for The Girl With The Curly Hair.’ The art teacher told the class to, “draw anything from your imagination.” The Girl With The Curly Hair found this instruction confusing.

One of the reasons why I believe that The Girl With The Curly Hair was confused by the instruction was because she was unable to work out what was inside the ‘margin of acceptability.’

The margin of acceptability is something that many autistic people find confusing.

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The post The margin of acceptability appeared first on The Girl with the Curly Hair.